History Main / SelectiveHistoricalArmoury

** If the producers can be bothered to give the Post-Soviet Russians anything newer than the AKM, the AKS-74U (which is likely going to be called an "[[MisidentifiedWeapons AK-74u]]"), the AN-94 (a gun too complex for standard infantry and was often passed up by the special forces soldiers eligible to use them in favor of simpler weapons), and the 2013 prototype of the AK-12 are typically as far as they'll go.

* The 2006 film ''Film/{{Flyboys}}'', set in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI WWI]], featured the Fokker Dr.I triplane exclusively as the fighter plane of the German air army when it was in fact not terribly common. More [[DrinkingGame/TVTropes egregiously]] nearly every one is painted bright red, when the only pilot to use an all-red scheme was Manfred von Richthofen (hence "The RedBaron"), and even partial red paintjobs were generally a trademark of Richthofen's ''[[BadassCrew Jasta 2.]]'' Also, several of the French and other Allied planes shown are anachronistic, because they were either non-existent or phased out during the events of that movie (it's supposed to be set in 1916). In short, there are lots of examples of JustPlaneWrong in the movie (even though it's relatively clear that the creators were going for a more RuleOfCool than realistic approach).

* World War II games in general often forget to include the M3 "Grease Gun" when it comes to American forces after 1943. Created as a cheaper replacement for the popular Thompson submachine gun, it saw widespread use for many American units in Europe around late 1944/early 1945, to the point where the Thompson would be discontinued immediately after the end of the war. Despite this, many games will either leave the M3 out because the designers feel it's too similar to the Thompson, or will make it an incredibly rare gun that will only be seen a few times in the game (as seen in ''Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway'' and ''Call of Duty 2''). It also looks fairly similar to the German [=MP40=] outside of the cannon, which might cause issues in multiplayer in some games. Typically, it only gets depicted as being as common as, if not moreso than, the Thompson in games set in the Pacific theater, even in the hands of Marines who in real life never acquired the the M3 until after the war. Even then, it will usually be the improved [=M3A1=] which, while designed towards the tail end of WWII, didn't actually see combat until Korea.

** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty2'': When coming up against German armored vehicles, you must either run up to them and attach a StickyBomb, or in some levels find a Panzershreck reusable rocket launcher (of which fewer than 300,000 were made) lying about. You and your British or American AI teammates will never have [=PIATs=] or [=M9=] "Bazookas" available, nor will the opposition ever have any disposable Panzerfaust rockets (more than 6 million made) lying about. Though the developers did not bother to model these weapons, they did make the effort to model several pistols - and then never give them to you except in rare circumstances (for instance, not counting the multiplayer, there is only ''one'' Webley revolver in the entire game). In the first ''Call of Duty'' the Panzerfaust was a common sight, but many complained that it was a single use weapon that forced them to go back and grab a new one entirely after every shot, especially since even back in that game any sort of anti-tank launcher was [[ATeamFiring hilariously inaccurate]] and would require multiple shots even when only one was actually necessary. On the other side, the M1 Carbine is far less common than it was in the first game (and [[MisidentifiedWeapons still identified as the M1A1]]), and while the M3 Grease Gun is actually included this time it can only be used in multiplayer. Like above, the only German machine gun seen is the MG 42, even though the earlier MG 34 was slightly more prolific, especially in mountings on vehicles. Amusingly, several of these omissions had already been corrected in the first game's expansion, ''United Offensive'', which included the Bazooka and eschewed the pre-placed MG 42s in favor of portable machine guns, including an MG 34, that players could mount where they wanted - but except for the non-American semi-auto rifles and handguns, none of them made the jump to ''Call of Duty 2''.

* ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' is pretty accurate with its arsenal in general, but some [[ArtisticLicenseMilitary artistic licenses]] were taken. For instance, the main weapon of [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Wehrmacht]] or [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] {{mooks}} is the infamous MP40, with the Kar98k (simply labelled "[[AKA47 Mauser rifle]]", and somehow having a 10-round magazine reloaded by an en-bloc clip instead of a magazine of 5 reloaded by stripper clips) being rarer, with roughly 1 in 10 mook packing one in the game, roughly the opposite of real life, though to be fair it's more fun to fight mooks equipped with weaker submachine guns rather than bolt-action rifles. Later on the regular SS grunts are mostly replaced with "Black Guard" [[EliteMooks Paratroopers]] who are primarily equipped with FG42s, which as mentioned above only had a production run of 7,000, though this can be {{justified|Trope}} by the fact these are elite troopers guarding critical top-secret Nazi [[StupidJetpackHitler super science]] or [[{{Ghostapo}} paranormal]] projects and [=VIPs=] against a OneManArmy, so logically they'd get first picks on guns. The only handgun used by the Germans in the game is the Luger P08, which in real life was considered obsolete for military service by the time of the war and was being phased out by the (admittedly much less famous and iconic) Walther P38. On the Allied side of things, the only guns you will find are the venerable Colt [=M1911A1=], the Thompson [=M1A1=], the Sten gun and a M3 "Snooper" Carbine fitted with a very early night vision scope (the M3 Carbine and night vision scope is real, but was only introduced in the Korean War). M1 Garands, M1 Carbines, Grease Guns, Springfield rifles, Browning Automatic Rifles, Bren Guns, Lee-Enfields and other common Allied guns are notably absent; once again, though, this is justified as you're deep behind enemy lines and you wouldn't be able to even reasonably acquire weapons the Germans didn't use, much less scavenge all the necessary ammo from German arsenals (the Thompson and M3 "Snooper" are already TooAwesomeToUse because of the sheer scarcity of .45 caliber and .30 caliber ammo in the game) - you'll have to fight the Nazis with their own toys. And that's not getting into the sci-fi weapons, the [[GatlingGood Venom Gun]] and the [[LightningGun Tesla Gun]].

* ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' is pretty accurate with its arsenal in general, but some [[ArtisticLicenseMilitary artistic licenses]] were taken. For instance, the main weapon of [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Wehrmacht]] or [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] {{mooks}} is the infamous [[CoolGuns MP40]], with the Kar98k (simply labelled "[[AKA47 Mauser rifle]]", and somehow having a 10-round magazine reloaded by an en-bloc clip instead of a magazine of 5 reloaded by stripper clips) being rarer, with roughly 1 in 10 mook packing one in the game, roughly the opposite of real life, though to be fair it's more fun to fight mooks equipped with weaker submachine guns rather than bolt-action rifles. Later on the regular SS grunts are mostly replaced with "Black Guard" [[EliteMooks Paratroopers]] who are primarily equipped with FG42s, which as mentioned above only had a production run of 7,000, though this can be {{justified|Trope}} by the fact these are elite troopers guarding critical top-secret Nazi [[StupidJetpackHitler super science]] or [[{{Ghostapo}} paranormal]] projects and [=VIPs=] against a OneManArmy, so logically they'd get first picks on CoolGuns. The only handgun used by the Germans in the game is the Luger P08, which in real life was considered obsolete for military service by the time of the war and was being phased out by the (admittedly much less famous and iconic) Walther P38. On the Allied side of things, the only guns you will find are the venerable Colt [=M1911A1=], the Thompson [=M1A1=], the Sten gun and a M3 "Snooper" Carbine fitted with a very early night vision scope (the M3 Carbine and night vision scope is real, but was only introduced in the Korean War). M1 Garands, M1 Carbines, Grease Guns, Springfield rifles, Browning Automatic Rifles, Bren Guns, Lee-Enfields and other common Allied guns are notably absent; once again, though, this is justified as you're deep behind enemy lines and you wouldn't be able to even reasonably acquire weapons the Germans didn't use, much less scavenge all the necessary ammo from German arsenals (the Thompson and M3 "Snooper" are already TooAwesomeToUse because of the sheer scarcity of .45 caliber and .30 caliber ammo in the game) - you'll have to fight the Nazis with their own toys. And that's not getting into the sci-fi weapons, the [[GatlingGood Venom Gun]] and the [[LightningGun Tesla Gun]].

** ''VideoGame/Anno1701'', despite being set at the zenith of the Age of Colonialism, features practically no firearms. The only in-game units to wield them as a matter of course are militiamen (melee units that carry a SwordAndGun) and Indian sepoys (an Indian native-only unit).

* World War II games in general often forget to include the M3 "Grease Gun" when it comes to American forces after 1943. Created as a cheaper replacement for the popular Thompson submachine gun, it saw widespread use for many American units in Europe around late 1944/early 1945, to the point where the Thompson would be discontinued immediately after the end of the war. Despite this, many games will either leave the M3 out because the designers feel it's too similar to the Thompson, or will make it an incredibly rare gun that will only be seen a few times in the game (as seen in ''Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway'' and ''Call of Duty 2''). Typically, it only gets depicted as being as common as, if not moreso than, the Thompson in games set in the Pacific theater, even in the hands of Marines who in real life never acquired the the M3 until after the war. Even then, it will usually be the improved [=M3A1=] which, while designed towards the tail end of WWII, didn't actually see combat until Korea.

* Most works set during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar will feature the M16A1, M1911A1, M79 and M60, generally ignoring other common weapons, such as the Grease Gun and even the M14.

* No matter the period, [[UsefulNotes/TheGloryThatWasRome Roman troops]] are almost invariably represented in the get-up from the early Imperial period, with maybe a leather or stripped-down version of their trademark segmented armor (known today as ''lorica segmentata''; it is speculated that its historical name was ''lorica laminata'') and Gallic or Italic-type helmets, and rarely show anything but the legionary heavy infantry. Generals, if not armored like the lower ranks, will wear Greek muscled cuirasses and Attic-type helmets--an artistic trope by the Imperial period, though archaeologically questionable. The real Roman army existed for over a thousand years (''two'' if one includes [[UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire the Eastern Roman Empire]]), during which their equipment varied from Italic versions of the hoplitic armory to almost indistinguishable from early Middle Ages armies and included other specialties, that depending on the period included heavy cavalry (that up until the losses in the [[UsefulNotes/PunicWars Second Punic War]] was actually considered the best in the known world), light cavalry, cataphracts (heavily armored shock cavalry), light infantry, archers, slingers, and various kinds of skirmishers.
* Many works set in the late Middle Ages (on in a fictional world very closely resembling it) omit guns entirely, despite them having been present on the battlefields alongside armored knights for centuries. There is also an over-reliance on swords, because sword fights look cool. In reality, almost everyone used polearms in battle, swords were (with very few exceptions) only used as backup weapons or rank insignias (prior to the proliferation of mercenaries late in the period, carrying a sword was usually limited to knights and nobles, who were the only people who had the money and time to afford swords and train to actually use them).

* ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' is pretty accurate with its arsenal in general, but some [[ArtisticLicenseMilitary artistic licenses]] were taken. For instance, the main weapon of [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Wehrmacht]] or [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] {{mooks}} is the infamous [[CoolGuns MP40]], with the Kar98k (simply labelled "[[AKA47 Mauser rifle]]", and somehow having a 10-round magazine reloaded by an en-bloc clip instead of a magazine of 5 reloaded by stripper clips) being rarer, with roughly 1 in 10 mook packing one in the game, roughly the opposite of real life, though to be fair it's more fun to fight mooks equipped with weaker submachine guns rather than bolt-action rifles. Later on the regular SS grunts are mostly replaced with "Black Guard" [[EliteMooks Paratroopers]] who are primarily equipped with FG42s, which as mentioned above only had a production run of 7,000, though this can be {{justified|Trope}} by the fact these are elite troopers guarding critical top-secret Nazi [[StupidJetpackHitler super science]] or [[{{Ghostapo}} paranormal]] projects and [=VIPs=] against a OneManArmy, so logically they'd get first picks on CoolGuns. The only handgun used by the Germans in the game is the Luger P08, which in real life was considered obsolete for military service by the time of the war and was being phased out by the (admittedly much less famous and iconic) Walther P38. On the Allied side of things, the only guns you will find are the venerable Colt [=M1911A1=], the Thompson [=M1A1=], the Sten gun and a M3 "Snooper" Carbine fitted with a very early night vision scope (the M3 Carbine and night vision scope [[AluminumChristmasTrees is real]], but was only introduced in the Korean War). M1 Garands, M1 Carbines, Grease Guns, Springfield rifles, Browning Automatic Rifles, Bren Guns, Lee-Enfields and other common Allied guns are notably absent; once again, though, this is justified as you're deep behind enemy lines and you wouldn't be able to even reasonably acquire weapons the Germans didn't use, much less scavenge all the necessary ammo from German arsenals (the Thompson and M3 "Snooper" are already TooAwesomeToUse because of the sheer scarcity of .45 caliber and .30 caliber ammo in the game) - you'll have to fight the Nazis with their own toys. And that's not getting into the sci-fi weapons, the [[GatlingGood Venom Gun]] and the [[LightningGun Tesla Gun]].

* Most works set during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar will feature the [[CoolGuns/AssaultRifles M16A1]], [[CoolGuns/{{Handguns}} M1911A1]], [[CoolGuns/RocketsMissilesAndGrenadeLaunchers M79]] and [[CoolGuns/MachineGuns M60]], generally ignoring other common weapons, such as the [[CoolGuns/SubmachineGuns Grease Gun]] and even the [[CoolGuns/BattleRifles M14]].

* ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' is pretty accurate with its arsenal in general, but some [[ArtisticLicenseMilitary artistic licenses]] were taken. For instance, the main weapon of [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Wehrmacht]] or [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] {{mooks}} is the infamous [[CoolGuns MP40]], with the [[CoolGuns/{{Rifles}} Kar98k]] (simply labelled "[[AKA47 Mauser rifle]]", and somehow having a 10-round magazine reloaded by an en-bloc clip instead of a magazine of 5 reloaded by stripper clips) being rarer, with roughly 1 in 10 mook packing one in the game, roughly the opposite of real life, though to be fair it's more fun to fight mooks equipped with weaker submachine guns rather than bolt-action rifles. Later on the regular SS grunts are mostly replaced with "Black Guard" [[EliteMooks Paratroopers]] who are primarily equipped with FG42s, which as mentioned above only had a production run of 7,000, though this can be {{justified|Trope}} by the fact these are elite troopers guarding critical top-secret Nazi [[StupidJetpackHitler super science]] or [[{{Ghostapo}} paranormal]] projects and [=VIPs=] against a OneManArmy, so logically they'd get first picks on CoolGuns. The only handgun used by the Germans in the game is the [[CoolGuns/{{Handguns}} Luger P08]], which in real life was considered obsolete for military service by the time of the war and was being phased out by the (admittedly much less famous and iconic) Walther P38. On the Allied side of things, the only guns you will find are the venerable Colt [=M1911A1=], the Thompson [=M1A1=], the Sten gun and a M3 "Snooper" Carbine fitted with a very early night vision scope (the M3 Carbine and night vision scope [[AluminumChristmasTrees is real]], but was only introduced in the Korean War). [[CoolGuns/BattleRifles M1 Garands]], M1 Carbines, Grease Guns, Springfield rifles, [[CoolGuns/MachineGuns Browning Automatic Rifles]], Bren Guns, Lee-Enfields and other common Allied guns are notably absent; once again, though, this is justified as you're deep behind enemy lines and you wouldn't be able to even reasonably acquire weapons the Germans didn't use, much less scavenge all the necessary ammo from German arsenals (the Thompson and M3 "Snooper" are already TooAwesomeToUse because of the sheer scarcity of .45 caliber and .30 caliber ammo in the game) - you'll have to fight the Nazis with their own toys. And that's not getting into the sci-fi weapons, the [[GatlingGood Venom Gun]] and the [[LightningGun Tesla Gun]].

** Rather than an M16, ''Far Cry 2'' includes a mockup of the AR-16. The AR-16 was a prototype version of the AR-18 Bushmaster assault rifle chambered for 7.62mm NATO rounds... making it more of an example of a {{Rare Gun|s}}. The idea seems to have been to have all four automatic rifles be 7.62mm rifles to justify UniversalAmmunition, but [[VoodooShark that ignores that the AK's 7.62mm round isn't anything like the one used by the other three anyway, or that none of the other weapon slots have such consideration to justify sharing ammo]].

Military fiction set in the past, UsefulNotes/WorldWarII in particular, will often inexplicably leave out weapons that should be very common, often in favour of [[RuleOfCool "cooler"]] but [[RareGuns rarer or even anachronistic items]]. In films, this can be explained by availability of props, but video games have little excuse other than the developers cutting corners, especially if they took the time to model other weapons that have little in-game use, like pistols.

The opposite of RareGuns: In these cases, it is weapons that ''should'' be abundant in the setting that are conspicuous by their absence. Compare with AnachronismStew, VideogameHistoricalRevisionism, ImproperlyPlacedFirearms and WeaponsKitchenSink.

* The ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' games set in the Pacific theatre have interesting choices of arsenal. The PC exclusive ''[[VideoGame/MedalOfHonorPacificAssault Pacific Assault]]'' in particular makes a considerable effort to be true to history; it actually remembers that the US Marines were still equipped with bolt-action Springfields long after the Garand became standard-issue to the Army, and includes oft-overlooked weapons like the .45 ACP M1917 revolver - even modelling the half-moon clips used to load it - and the [[ReliablyUnreliableGuns infamous]] M55 Reising. The console exclusive ''[[VideoGame/MedalOfHonorRisingSun Rising Sun]]'', while having a less diverse lineup of guns, actually bothered to include the [[RareGuns Type 11 light machine gun]] as one of two Japanese machine guns in-game, alongside the more numerous Type 99 LMG. With regards to handguns, the Welrod is shown being used by the OSS, rather than the High Standard HDM shown in previous titles.

* ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' is pretty accurate with its arsenal in general, but some [[ArtisticLicenseMilitary artistic licenses]] were taken. For instance, the main weapon of [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Wehrmacht]] or [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] {{mooks}} is the infamous [[CoolGuns MP40]], with the [[CoolGuns/{{Rifles}} Kar98k]] (simply labelled "[[AKA47 Mauser rifle]]", and somehow having a 10-round magazine reloaded by an en-bloc clip instead of a magazine of 5 reloaded by stripper clips) being rarer, with roughly 1 in 10 mook packing one in the game, roughly the opposite of real life, though to be fair it's more fun to fight mooks equipped with weaker submachine guns rather than bolt-action rifles. Later on the regular SS grunts are mostly replaced with "Black Guard" [[EliteMooks Paratroopers]] who are primarily equipped with [[RareGuns/BattleRifles FG42s]], which as mentioned above only had a production run of 7,000, though this can be {{justified|Trope}} by the fact these are elite troopers guarding critical top-secret Nazi [[StupidJetpackHitler super science]] or [[{{Ghostapo}} paranormal]] projects and [=VIPs=] against a OneManArmy, so logically they'd get first picks on CoolGuns. The only handgun used by the Germans in the game is the [[CoolGuns/{{Handguns}} Luger P08]], which in real life was considered obsolete for military service by the time of the war and was being phased out by the (admittedly much less famous and iconic) Walther P38. On the Allied side of things, the only guns you will find are the venerable Colt [=M1911A1=], the Thompson [=M1A1=], the Sten gun and a M3 "Snooper" Carbine fitted with a very early night vision scope (the M3 Carbine and night vision scope [[AluminumChristmasTrees is real]], but was only introduced in the Korean War). [[CoolGuns/BattleRifles M1 Garands]], M1 Carbines, Grease Guns, Springfield rifles, [[CoolGuns/MachineGuns Browning Automatic Rifles]], Bren Guns, Lee-Enfields and other common Allied guns are notably absent; once again, though, this is justified as you're deep behind enemy lines and you wouldn't be able to even reasonably acquire weapons the Germans didn't use, much less scavenge all the necessary ammo from German arsenals (the Thompson and M3 "Snooper" are already TooAwesomeToUse because of the sheer scarcity of .45 caliber and .30 caliber ammo in the game) - you'll have to fight the Nazis with their own toys. And that's not getting into the sci-fi weapons, the [[GatlingGood Venom Gun]] and the [[LightningGun Tesla Gun]].

** The third game adds the [[RareGuns StG44]] to the German side about two years prior to its adoption in real life.

** [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII The sequel]] goes the other way, using nearly exactly the same armory for missions set nearly two decades afterwards when the weapons should have been replaced by newer ones - Woods takes an original-model M16 (mislabeled as the improved A1) along for Operation Just Cause, for instance, at a point where in the real world all branches had switched to the [=M16A2=] (and where, given the close-range urban combat of the level, he probably would have been using a shorter-barreled CAR-15 derivative like the previous game's "Commando" instead), while Soviet troops [[UsefulNotes/SovietInvasionOfAfghanistan in Afghanistan]] use the RPD machine gun - with an anachronistic Picatinny rail atop the feed tray, since the model was [[PropRecycling recycled from]] ''Modern Warfare 2'' - years after the previous game's RPK-74 should have replaced it for frontline service. The player can also deliberately invoke this by taking a flashback weapon into one of the normal missions set in 2025 (taking that M16 into missions where a burst-firing [[RareGuns XM8]] and an [=HK416=] are standard among the [=SEALs=]), or, after beating the game once, invoke the anachronisms of the previous game by taking a 2025 weapon into a flashback mission (fight the MPLA in the Angolan Civil War with the [[SwissArmyWeapon combined explosive-flechette-launcher/automatic shotgun]] that is the "Titus-6" and the still-not-officially-produced LSAT machine gun).

** If the producers can be bothered to give the Post-Soviet Russians anything newer than the AKM, the AKS-74U (which is likely going to be called an "[[MisidentifiedWeapons AK-74u]]"), the [[RareGuns/AssaultRifles AN-94]] (a gun too complex for standard infantry and was often passed up by the special forces soldiers eligible to use them in favor of simpler weapons), and the 2013 prototype of the AK-12 are typically as far as they'll go.

** Some games set in the Pacific theatre give Japanese soldiers German weapons instead. Ditto for the Italians in games [[TheGreatestHistoryNeverTold that actually bother to depict them]].[[note]]This case has some basis in reality as Italian troops would sometime "borrow" weapons from their allies due their logistic troubles, but German weapons remained the vast minority in Italian hands[[/note]]

* While ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' gets away by mixing the usual {{Zeerust}} fifties setting with the Far West, you can find exactly ''one'' "battle rifle" (M1 Garand) in the whole game pre-DLC. The NCR army uses a "service rifle" (an AR-15 with wooden parts instead of plastic ones) as their main gun.

** If the producers can be bothered to give the Post-Soviet Russians anything newer than the AKM, the AKS-74U (even, it's likely going to be called an "[[MisidentifiedWeapons AK-74u]]"); the [[RareGuns/AssaultRifles AN-94]] (a gun too complex for standard infantry and was often passed up by the special forces soldiers eligible to use them in favor of simpler weapons); and the 2013 prototype of the AK-12 are typically as far as they'll go.

* Subverted in Harry Turtledove's AlternateHistory novel ''Literature/TheGunsOfTheSouth'', where the Confederate army use AK-47s because [[GivingRadioToTheRomans they've been imported by time-travelling white supremacists]] who want the CSA to win the American Civil War, so slavery can continue.
** An almost identical plot appears in Harry Harrison's short story ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Rebel_in_Time A Rebel in Time]]'', written nearly a decade earlier. The only major difference is the weapon being smuggled - a WWII British Sten - which would arguably be an even better choice, since due to its famous simplicity, it could easily be manufactured even with basic 19th century industry (pretty much at a village smithy).

** Some games set in the Pacific theatre give Japanese soldiers German weapons instead. Ditto for the Italians in games [[TheGreatestHistoryNeverTold that actually bother to depict them]].[[note]]This case is has some basis in reality as Italian troops would sometime "borrow" weapons from their allies due their logistic troubles, but German weapons remained the vast minority in Italian hands[[/note]]
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' has the FG 42 as a usable weapon, of which less than 7000 were made, while the American Grease Gun, of which more than 700,000 were made, is conspicuously absent. Also, the only pistols available are the American M1911 and the German Luger, and the only mounted machine gun seen is the MG 42, even in scenarios where it makes little-to-no sense, like one being found in a U.S. training camp.[[note]]Admittedly, it could be a captured example used to acclimate recruits to the MG 42's notoriously demoralizing sound when fired.[[/note]]
** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty2'': When coming up against German armored vehicles, you must either run up to them and attach a sticky bomb, or in some levels find a Panzershreck reusable rocket launcher (of which fewer than 300,000 were made) lying about. You and your British or American AI teammates will never have [=PIATs=] or [=M9=] "Bazookas" available, nor will the opposition ever have any disposable Panzerfaust rockets (more than 6 million made) lying about. Though the developers did not bother to model these weapons, they did make the effort to model several pistols - and then never give them to you except in rare circumstances (for instance, not counting the multiplayer, there is only ''one'' Webley revolver in the entire game). In the first ''Call of Duty'' the Panzerfaust was a common sight, but many complained that it was a single use weapon that forced them to go back and grab a new one entirely after every shot, especially since even back in that game any sort of anti-tank launcher was [[ATeamFiring hilariously inaccurate]] and would require multiple shots even when only one was actually necessary. On the other side, the M1 Carbine is far less common than it was in the first game (and [[MisidentifiedWeapons still identified as the M1A1]]), and while the M3 Grease Gun is actually included this time it can only be used in multiplayer. Like above, the only German machine gun seen is the MG 42, even though the earlier MG 34 was slightly more prolific, especially in mountings on vehicles. Amusingly, several of these omissions had already been corrected in the first game's expansion, ''United Offensive'', which included the Bazooka and eschewed the pre-placed MG 42s in favor of portable machine guns, including an MG 34, that players could mount where they wanted - but except for the non-American semi-auto rifles and handguns, none of them made the jump to ''Call of Duty 2''.
** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' includes the PTRS-41 rifle (presumably as a 'historic' equivalent of the Barrett M82 sniper rifle from ''[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Call of Duty 4]]''), even though the PTRS-41 is a massive caliber ''anti-tank'' rifle not at all suitable for being carried around and fired from the hip, as it is in the game (it weighs somewhere around 40 pounds). The first ''Call of Duty'' used it properly as a stationary anti-tank rifle. However, they were far more useful than the real things, able to destroy a Panzer IV with a few shots to the front armor, whereas in reality even the PTRS's [[{{BFG}} high velocity 14 millimeter bullets]] would just [[NoSell bounce off with minimal damage]].

** The Russians with [=MP-18s=] are likely a balance issue, since the 71-round drum of the [=PPSh-41=] would be unbalancing. Yet, the [=PPSh=]-41, as well as the later PPS-43, could also use 35-round box magazines (as seen [[http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg03-e.htm here]]).
* ''Battlefield 1943'' continues the tradition with Thompsons being the only submachine gun available for the Americans; the Type 100 being the only submachine gun available for the Japanese; the German Karabiner 98 rifle being the sniper rifle for the Japanese[[note]]Though in this case, the developers actually wanted to use an Arisaka, but they were unable to acquire one due to budget constraints.[[/note]]; and the experimental, never-entering-service Type 5 being the semiautomatic rifle for the Japanese (and reloading with 8-round en bloc clips like the Garand, which simply didn't work with the Type 5's cartridge). As the game's options are quite limited in general and strictly multiplayer and [[CosmeticallyDifferentSides all weapon types being exactly the same for both sides]], though, it was clear they were just looking for a simple justification for the game to be easily balanced.

* ''VideoGame/DayOfInfamy'' tries to keep it realistic as possible in regards to what is available to who, particularly only allowing the German team access to the [=StG=]-44 in maps based on battles that take place after its adoption, giving the Americans the option of the M1917 revolver, actually making two different Thompson SMG models (the [=M1A1=] for the American military and the older M1928 for the Commonwealth), and using the original version of the M3 Grease Gun instead of the [=M3A1=], which wasn't used during the war, but it does slip up in one instance - the only faction that has access to a shotgun is the Commonwealth. This can be justified on the German side, in that during and after World War I they saw usage of shotguns in war as barbaric (Europeans saw shotguns exclusively as hunting weapons, so to them using a shotgun to kill soldiers [[ValuesDissonance was essentially treating those soldiers like animals]]), so the only shotguns they issued were as part of a combination/survival weapon, designed for hunting game for the soldier to feed himself while a regular rifled barrel would be used for actually defending themselves against enemies. However, the shotgun the Commonwealth gets, the Ithaca 37, is one of the most famous ''American'' models in modern history, which did see quite a bit of use within the American forces alongside the Winchester 1897 and 1912 - but no such luck in this game. One other goof is that, while the FG 42 is only available to the German team in maps based on battles the Fallschirmjäger were actually present at (Bastogne, Comacchio, etc.), it's also available to them in battles [[AnachronismStew that took place before it was even on the drawing board]], such as Crete. Similarly, while the [=M1A1=] Carbine is usually only available on maps where U.S. Airborne divisions were present, it is unavailable on Foy, despite that the 101st Airborne are available there.
* ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' is pretty accurate with its arsenal in general, but some [[ArtisticLicenseMilitary artistic licenses]] were taken. For instance, the main weapon of [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Wehrmacht]] or [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] {{mooks}} is the infamous [[CoolGuns MP40]], with the [[CoolGuns/{{Rifles}} Kar98k]] (simply labelled "[[AKA47 Mauser rifle]]", and somehow having a 10-round magazine and reloaded by an en-bloc clip instead of a magazine of 5 reloaded by stripper clips) being rarer, roughly 1 in 10 mook packs one in the game, roughly the opposite of real life, though to be fair it's more fun to fight mooks equipped with submachine guns rather than bolt-action rifles. Later on the regular SS grunts are mostly replaced with "Black Guard" [[EliteMooks Paratroopers]] who are primarily equipped with [[RareGuns/BattleRifles FG42s]], which as mentioned above only had a production run of 7000, though this can be {{Justified}} by the fact these are elite troopers guarding critical top-secret Nazi [[StupidJetpackHitler super science]] or [[{{Ghostapo}} paranormal]] projects and [=VIPs=] against a OneManArmy, so logically they'd get first picks on CoolGuns. The only handgun used by the Germans in the games is the [[CoolGuns/{{Handguns}} Luger P08]], which in real life was considered obsolete for military service and was being phased out by the (admittedly much less famous and iconic) Walther P38. On the Allied side of things, the only guns you will find are the venerable Colt [=M1911A1=], the Thompson [=M1A1=], the Sten gun and a M3 "Snooper" Carbine fitted with a very early night vision scope (the M3 Carbine and night vision scope [[AluminumChristmasTrees is real]], but was only introduced in the Korean War). [[CoolGuns/BattleRifles M1 Garands]], M1 Carbines, Grease Guns, Springfield rifles, [[CoolGuns/MachineGuns Browning Automatic Rifles]], Bren Guns, Lee-Enfields and other common Allied guns are notably absent, once again {{Justified}}, as you're deep behind enemy lines and you wouldn't be able to scavenge all the necessary ammo from German arsenals (the Thompson and M3 "Snooper" are already TooAwesomeToUse because of the sheer scarcity of .45 caliber and .30 caliber ammo in the game). You'll have to fight the Nazis with their own toys. And that's not getting into the sci-fi weapons, the [[GatlingGood Venom Gun]] and the [[LightningGun Tesla Gun]].

* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty 4'', where we see more than one AK variant, the G3[[note]]Interestingly, just like ''Far Cry 2'' above, the G3 deals less damage than it should in multiplayer (only on par with the smaller, full-auto assault rifles) so as not to completely outclass the M14, which deals the proper higher damage for a 7.62mm battle rifle but is unlocked much later[[/note]], and several variations on the M4 carbine. However, even the Russian Loyalists use archaic [=AKs=] (which, predictably, [[MisidentifiedWeapons they call "AK-47s"]]) instead of the AK-74, which should be their standard rifle but instead is only present in its AKS-74U form. The Russians ''are'' going back to the older 7.62x39mm round for some roles, after discovering that its 5.45mm replacement had a distressing tendency to veer off-course if it passed through thick foliage, but they're using newly-manufactured weapons with various modern improvements instead of pulling fifty-year-old guns out of mothballs.

* ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2'' takes the odd weapon selections to the extreme, with the Brazilian militia using everything from [[SawedOffShotgun sawed-down]] Winchester 1887s, Sears Rangers, and locally produced FN [=FALs=], to updated [=AKs=] with fancy optics and retractable stocks, and the Russians using many foreign weapon designs, some of which originated from countries they would traditionally have nothing to do with, as is the case with the Israeli Tavor TAR-21, Belgian FN F2000, and French FAMAS. Basically, they use everything ''but'' what you'd expect.

** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty2'': When coming up against German armored vehicles, you must either run up to them and attach a sticky bomb, or in some levels find a Panzershreck reusable rocket launcher (of which ewer than 300,000 were made) lying about. You and your British or American AI teammates will never have [=PIATs=] or [=M9=] "Bazookas" available, nor will the opposition ever have any disposable Panzerfaust rockets (more than 6 million made) lying about. Though the developers did not bother to model these weapons, they did make the effort to model several pistols - and then never give them to you except in rare circumstances (for instance, not counting the multiplayer, there is only ''one'' Webley revolver in the entire game). In the first ''Call of Duty'' the Panzerfaust was a common sight, but many complained that it was a single use weapon that forced them to go back and grab a new one entirely after every shot, especially since even back in that game any sort of anti-tank launcher was [[ATeamFiring hilariously inaccurate]] and would require multiple shots even when only one was actually necessary. On the other side, the M1 Carbine is far less common than it was in the first game (and [[MisidentifiedWeapons still identified as the M1A1]]), and while the M3 Grease Gun is actually included this time it can only be used in multiplayer. Like above, the only German machine gun seen is the MG 42, even though the earlier MG 34 was slightly more prolific, especially in mountings on vehicles. Amusingly, several of these omissions had already been corrected in the first game's expansion, ''United Offensive'', which included the Bazooka and eschewed the pre-placed MG 42s in favor of portable machine guns, including an MG 34, that players could mount where they wanted - but except for the non-American semi-auto rifles and handguns, none of them made the jump to ''Call of Duty 2''.

* World War II games in general often forget to include the M3 "Grease Gun" when it comes to American forces after 1943. Created as a cheaper replacement for the popular Thompson submachine gun, it saw widespread use for many American units in Europe around late 1944/early 1945, to the point where the Thompson would be discontinued immediately after the end of the war. Despite this, many games will either leave the M3 out because the designers feel it's too similar to the Thompson, or will make it an incredibly rare gun that will only be seen a few times in the game (as seen in ''Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway'' and ''Call of Duty 2''). Typically, it only gets depicted as being as common as, if not moreso than, the Thompson in games set in the Pacific theater, even in the hands of Marines who in real life never acquired the the M3 until after the war. Even then, it will usually be the improved [=M3A1=] which, while designed towards the tail end of WWII, didn't actually see combat until Korea.

* ''VideoGame/DayOfInfamy'' tries to keep it realistic as possible in regards to what is available to who, particularly only allowing the German team access to the [=StG=]-44 in maps based on battles that take place after its adoption, giving the Americans the option of the M1917 revolver, actually making two different Thompson SMG models (the [=M1A1=] for the American military and the older M1928 for the Commonwealth), and using the original version of the M3 Grease Gun instead of the [=M3A1=], which wasn't used during the war, but it does slip up in one instance - the only faction that has access to a shotgun is the Commonwealth. This can be justified on the German side, in that during and after World War I they saw usage of shotguns in war as barbaric (Europeans saw shotguns exclusively as hunting weapons, so to them using a shotgun to kill soldiers [[ValuesDissonance was essentially treating those soldiers like animals]]), so the only shotguns they issued were as part of a combination/survival weapon, designed for hunting game for the soldier to feed himself while a regular rifled barrel would be used for actually defending themselves against enemies. However, the shotgun the Commonwealth gets, the Ithaca 37, is one of the most famous ''American'' models in modern history, which did see quite a bit of use within the American forces alongside the Winchester 1897 and 1912 - but no such luck in this game. One other goof is that, while the FG 42 is only available to the German team in maps based on battles the Fallschirmjäger were actually present at (Bastogne, Comacchio, etc.), it's also available to them in battles [[AnachronismStew that took place before it was even on the drawing board]], such as Crete. Similarly, while the [=M1A1=] Carbine is usually only available on maps where U.S. Airborne divisions were present, it is unavailable on Foy, despite that the 101st Airborne being available there.

* World War II games in general often forget to include the M3 "Grease Gun" when it comes to American forces after 1943. Created as a cheaper replacement for the popular Thompson submachine gun, it saw widespread use for many American units in Europe around late 1944/early 1945, to the point where the Thompson would be discontinued immediately after the end of the war. Despite this, many games will either leave the M3 out because the designers feel it's too similar to the Thompson, or will make it an incredibly rare gun that will only be seen a few times in the game (as seen in ''Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway'' and ''Call of Duty 2''). Typically, it only gets depicted as being as common as, if not moreso than, the Thompson in games set in the Pacific theater, even in the hands of Marines who in real life never acquired the the M3 until after the war. Even then, it will usually be the improved [=M3A1=] which, while designed towards the tail end of WWII, didn't actually see combat until Korea.

* ''VideoGame/DayOfInfamy'' tries to keep it realistic as possible in regards to what is available to who, particularly only allowing the German team access to the [=StG=]-44 in maps based on battles that take place after its adoption, giving the Americans the option of the M1917 revolver, actually making two different Thompson SMG models (the [=M1A1=] for the American military and the older M1928 for the Commonwealth), and using the original version of the M3 Grease Gun instead of the [=M3A1=], which wasn't used during the war, but it does slip up in one instance - the only faction that has access to a shotgun is the Commonwealth. This can be justified on the German side, in that during and after World War I they saw usage of shotguns in war as barbaric (Europeans saw shotguns exclusively as hunting weapons, so to them using a shotgun to kill soldiers [[ValuesDissonance was essentially treating those soldiers like animals]]), so the only shotguns they issued were as part of a combination/survival weapon, designed for hunting game for the soldier to feed himself while a regular rifled barrel would be used for actually defending themselves against enemies. However, the shotgun the Commonwealth gets, the Ithaca 37, is one of the most famous ''American'' models in modern history, which did see quite a bit of use within the American forces alongside the Winchester 1897 and 1912 - but no such luck in this game. One other goof is that, while the FG 42 is only available to the German team in maps based on battles the Fallschirmjäger were actually present at (Bastogne, Comacchio, etc.), it's also available to them in battles [[AnachronismStew that took place before it was even on the drawing board]], such as Crete. Similarly, while the M1A1 Carbine is usually only available on maps where U.S. Airborne divisions were present, it is unavailable on Foy, despite that the 101st Airborne being available there.

* World War II games in general often forget to include the M3 "Grease Gun" when it comes to American forces after 1943. Created as a cheaper replacement for the popular M1 Thompson submachine gun, it saw widespread use for many American units in Europe around late 1944. Despite this, many games will either leave it out because the designers feel it's too similar to the M1 Thompson, or will make it an incredibly rare gun that will only be seen a few times in the game (as seen in ''Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway'' and ''Call of Duty 2''). Typically, it only gets depicted as being as common as, if not moreso than, the Thompson in games set in the Pacific theater, despite that the Marines never ''got'' the Grease Gun. It will also universally be the improved [=M3A1=], which didn't see combat until Korea.

** Some games set in the Pacific theatre give Japanese soldiers German weapons instead. Ditto for the Italians in [[TheGreatestHistoryNeverTold the few games]] involving the Mediterranean theatre (somewhat understandable as they would sometime "borrow" weapons from their allies due their logistic troubles, but German weapons remained the vast minority in Italian hands).

** ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty2'': When coming up against German armoured vehicles, you must either run up to them and attach a sticky bomb, or in some levels find a Panzershreck reusable rocket launcher [fewer than 300,000 made] lying about. You and your British or American AI teammates will never have [=PIATs=] or [=M9=] "Bazookas" available, nor will the opposition ever have any disposable Panzerfaust rockets [more than 6 million made] lying about. Though the developers did not bother to model these weapons, they did make the effort to model several pistols - and then never give them to you except in rare circumstances (there is ''one'' Webley revolver in the entire game, for instance). In the first ''Call of Duty'' the Panzerfaust was a common sight, but many complained that it was a single use weapon that forced them to go back and grab a new one entirely after every shot, especially since even back in that game any sort of anti-tank launcher was [[ATeamFiring hilariously inaccurate]] and would require multiple shots even when only one was actually necessary. On the other side, the M1 Carbine is far less common than it was in the first game (and [[MisidentifiedWeapons still identified as the M1A1]]), and while the M3 Grease Gun is actually included this time it can only be used in multiplayer. Like above, the only German machine gun seen is the MG 42, even though the earlier MG 34 was slightly more prolific, especially in mountings on vehicles. Amusingly, several of these omissions had already been corrected in the first game's expansion, ''United Offensive'', which included the Bazooka and eschewed the pre-placed MG 42s in favor of portable machine guns, including an MG 34, that players could mount where they wanted - but except for the non-American semi-auto rifles and handguns, none of them made the jump to ''Call of Duty 2''.
** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' includes the PTRS-41 rifle (presumably as a 'historic' equivalent of the Barrett M82 sniper rifle from ''[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Call of Duty 4]]''), even though the PTRS-41 is a massive caliber ''anti-tank'' rifle not at all suitable for being carried around and fired from the hip, as it is in the game (it weighs somewhere around 40 pounds). The first ''Call of Duty'' used it properly as a stationary anti-tank rifle. However, they were far more useful than the real things, able to destroy a Panzer IV with a few shots to the front armor, whereas in reality even the PTRS's [[{{BFG}} 14 millimeter bullets]] would just [[NoSell bounce off harmlessly]].

* ''VideoGame/DayOfInfamy'' tries to keep it realistic as possible in regards to what is available to who, particularly only allowing the German team access to the [=StG=]-44 in maps based on battles that take place after its adoption, giving the Americans the option of the M1917 revolver, actually making two different Thompson SMG models (the [=M1A1=] for the American military and the older M1928 for the Commonwealth), and using the original version of the M3 Grease Gun instead of the [=M3A1=], which wasn't used during the war, but it does slip up in one instance - the only faction that has access to a shotgun is the Commonwealth. This can be justified on the German side, in that during and after World War I they saw usage of shotguns in war as barbaric (shotguns were seen by Europeans as hunting weapons, so to them using a shotgun to kill soldiers [[ValuesDissonance was the equivalent of comparing those soldiers to animals]]), so the only shotguns they issued were as part of a combination/survival weapon, designed for hunting game for the soldier to feed himself while a regular rifled barrel would be used for actually defending themselves against enemies. However, the shotgun the Commonwealth gets, the Ithaca 37, is one of the most famous ''American'' models in modern history, which did see quite a bit of use within the American forces alongside the Winchester 1897 and 1912 - but no such luck in this game. One other goof is that, while the FG 42 is only available to the German team in maps based on battles the Fallschirmjäger were actually present at (Bastogne, Comacchio, etc.), it's also available to them in battles [[AnachronismStew that took place before it was even on the drawing board]], such as Crete.

** [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII The sequel]] goes the other way, using nearly exactly the same armory for missions set nearly two decades afterwards when the weapons should have been replaced by newer ones - Woods takes an original-model M16 (mislabeled as the improved A1) along for Operation Just Cause, for instance, at a point where in the real world all branches had switched to the [=M16A2=] (and where, given the close-range urban combat of the level, he probably would have been using a shorter-barreled CAR-15 derivative like the previous game's "Commando" instead), while Soviet troops [[UsefulNotes/SovietInvasionOfAfghanistan in Afghanistan]] use the RPD machine gun - with an anachronistic Picatinny rail atop the feed tray, since the model was [[PropRecycling recycled from]] ''Modern Warfare 2'', which was set in 2016 - years after the previous game's RPK-74 should have replaced it for frontline service. The player can also deliberately invoke this by taking a flashback weapon into one of the normal missions set in 2025 (taking that M16 into missions where a burst-firing [[RareGuns XM8]] and an [=HK416=] are standard among the [=SEALs=]), or, after beating the game once, invoke the anachronisms of the previous game by taking a 2025 weapon into a flashback mission (fight the MPLA in the Angolan Civil War with the [[SwissArmyWeapon combined explosive-flechette-launcher/automatic shotgun]] that is the "Titus-6" and the still-not-officially-produced LSAT machine gun).

* ''VideoGame/DayOfInfamy'' tries to keep it realistic as possible in regards to what is available to who, particularly only allowing the German team access to the [=StG=]-44 in maps based on battles that take place after its adoption, giving the Americans the option of the M1917 revolver, actually making two different Thompson SMG models (the [=M1A1=] for the American military and the older M1928 for the Commonwealth), and using the original version of the M3 Grease Gun instead of the [=M3A1=], which wasn't used during the war, but it does slip up in one instance - the only faction that has access to a shotgun is the Commonwealth. This can be justified on the German side, in that during and after World War I they saw usage of shotguns in war as barbaric (shotguns were seen by Europeans as hunting weapons, so to them using a shotgun to kill soldiers [[ValuesDissonance was the equivalent of comparing those soldiers to animals]]), so the only shotguns they issued were as part of a combination/survival weapon, designed for hunting game for the soldier to feed himself while a regular rifled barrel would be used for actually defending themselves against enemies. However, the shotgun the Commonwealth gets, the Ithaca 37, is one of the most famous ''American'' models in modern history, which did see quite a bit of use within the American forces alongside the Winchester 1897 and 1912 - but no such luck in this game. One other goof is that, while the FG 42 is only available to the German team in maps based on battles the Fallschirmjäger were actually present at (Bastogne, Comacchio, etc.), it's also available to them in battles [[AnachronismStew that took place before it was developed for them]], such as Crete.

* ''Battlefield 1943'' continues the tradition with Thompsons being the only submachine gun available for the Americans; the Type 100 being the only submachine gun available for the Japanese; the German Karabiner 98 rifle being the sniper rifle for the Japanese[[note]]Though in this case, the developers actually wanted to use an Arisaka, but because of budget constraints they couldn't acquire one.[[/note]]; and the experimental, never-entering-service Type 5 being the semiautomatic rifle for the Japanese (and reloading with 8-round en bloc clips like the Garand, which simply didn't work with the Type 5's cartridge). As the game's options are quite limited in general and strictly multiplayer and [[CosmeticallyDifferentSides all weapon types being exactly the same for both sides]], though, it was clear they were just looking for a simple justification for the game to be easily balanced.

* ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}} 1942'' completely ignored how its weapons were used in actual history. The assault class of each army gets a historical machine gun which functions in-game as an assault rifle, while the bolt-action rifles that were really the standard-issue weapons of most armies are restricted to the Engineer and Sniper. The worst offenders, though, are the stationary machine guns, which do not cause a whole lot of damage, and whoever uses them ''stands up straight, completely exposed to enemy fire''. Interestingly, the mod ''VideoGame/ForgottenHope'' added historical weapons, and the result was a game which was much more authentic and more fun to play.

** The third game adds the [[RareGuns StG44]] to the German side a number of years prior to its adoption in real life.

* Many works set in the late Middle Ages (on in a fictional world very closely resembling it) omit guns entirely, despite having been present on the battlefields alongside armored knights for centuries. There is also an over-reliance on swords, because sword fights look cool. In reality, almost everyone used polearms in battle, swords were (with very few exceptions) only used as backup weapons or rank insignias (carrying a sword was usually limited to knights and nobles, who were the only people who had the money and time to afford swords and train to actually use them).

* Many works set in the late Middle Ages (on in a fictional world very closely resembling it) omit guns entirely, despite having been present on the battlefields alongside armored knights for centuries. There is also an over-reliance on swords, because sword fights look cool. In reality, almost everyone used polearms in battle, swords were (with very few exceptions) only used as backup weapons.